I live in Washington State and convert acoustic bass guitars into affordable custom long scale baritone guitars in my spare time. This blog is about all things relating to those guitars. And for people that don't have the $1,500 for an Alvarez, $3,000 for a Taylor, or $8,000 for a Santa Cruz... (Click on any of the pictures to enlarge)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Resonator Baritone No. 3

I
made this baritone guitar out of a very nice brand new Maestro resonator bass
and it is the third resonator baritone I have made. It does have a few minor
finish flaws and ripples in the paint that are not immediately obvious and can
only be seen in reflection. I use one regular .013 guitar string and strings out of a set of
D’Addario EXL170-12 Regular Light Gauge bass strings for the rest of the
guitar. The guitar is strung .013, .018, .025w, .035, .045, and .080 and it
works remarkably well. I have it tuned A – A at the moment but have tested it
with the following open tunings:

G-C-G-D-E-G – Plays like open G but is really open C

G-D-G-E-D-G – Plays like open D but is really open G

A-E-A-C#-E-A – Plays like open E but is really open A

The top, sides, and back are a deep, rich red that my camera does
not adequately capture. The resonator is a spider cone and the saddle is the
original hardwood – ash I believe is traditional. The pickup is a regular under
saddle type and not particularly made for resonator guitars but it works well. The
down side of that type of pickup is that you cannot adjust the spider without
taking the cover off. In later guitars I may change this but this is how it
came with the bass. It sounds great as it is but it would probably “honk” more
with a National or Quarterman cone. I have the action set pretty high at the
moment for easy open tuning slide play. If you are new to slide I would
recommend you keep it there but I would be glad to lower it before shipping if
you would like. I am selling it without
a case on eBay for $595. For an additional $10 I will include a nut extender
that allows the guitar to be played lap style with a tone bar that you will
need to get – there are many styles. For regular slide play you will need to find
the one that you like the best. I prefer brass but there are many who prefer
glass or stainless steel. Sold - Thanks Bonnie!